Sunday, October 28, 2018

Bartimaeus And Reconciliation

This is the the homily given for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Have you ever wondered why there are so many stories of healings in the Gospels? What is the purpose? They can come across as stories to tell us what a nice a caring guy Jesus was.  Is that it?  Or is there more going on?

In the Gospels, everything that Jesus says and does points to His central mission.  From the Incarnation through the preaching of the Gospel through the Passion and Death through the Resurrection and past the Ascension, it is made clear that everything Jesus says and does points to the reconciliation of God and humanity through the forgiveness of sin.  He wants this so much that on the very day of the Resurrection, in the Gospel of John, Jesus charges His apostles to forgive sins in is name. So how do the miracle stories such as the story of Bartimaeus from today's Gospel point to that?

In the Scriptures, disease was seen as a symbol of sin. Blindness was seen in this way.  Blindness reduced its victim to a life reduced to begging.  When Jesus gives Bartimaeus his sight back, He is doing more than restoring use of his eyes, He is restoring him to everything lost by the blindness. For that blindness to be alleviated, steps must be taken first.  First, Bartimaeus must recognize the obvious fact that he is blind. Second, he must have hope that Jesus can cure him. Third, he must approach in faith for that cure. Finally, fourth, he must live anew as one who can see.

The first step is that of humility. He must recognize that he is blind and that this blindness is not to his good. This is instructive to us. Humility is honesty before God.  In humility we see where we are strong, but we also see where we are weak, where we fail, where we need healing, and how these things are holding us down. Humility will lead us to hope.  As Bartimaeus hopes that Jesus wants to cure him and can cure him, so we must have hope that Jesus does want to cure us and in doing so, reconcile us to the Father. Are these not necessary towards making a good confession?  We must have the courage to cry out as Bartimaeus did, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  We must realize what he did: Jesus can save us and wants to do so.

Jesus does want to make us whole through the forgiveness of our sins. He beckons for us when we call out for Him.  One of my primary jobs as a priest is to say ,"Get up, take courage, Jesus is calling for you!"  It is what I am doing at this moment! It is what I do every time I teach and preach about the sacrament of Reconciliation. Don't let the fear that you can't be forgiven keep you silent on the side of the road! Don't let the demonic lie that God doesn't want to forgive you still your tongue from calling out for the mercy of the Son of David! Do not let the delusional deceit of pride quiet your will believing that you are not blind. Jesus is calling you: Take courage...get up!

Notice that Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants Him to do?  Could Jesus not see that he was blind? The next step for Bartimaeus is that of faith.  Humility and hope have led him to this encounter with Christ!  Let faith in the power of Christ through the sacraments He Himself gave us lead you to the place to be able to say in the confessional . Master, I want to see!" When we confess our sins, have sorrow for them, and wish to be free of them, we tell Christ we want to see. Christ does not force His grace upon us, we must ask in faith for that grace.  He is all too happy to give it to us if we wish to be truly free of our sins and its attendant blindness. Notice the words of Jesus, "Your faith has saved you."  Jesus responds to our humility, hope, and faith with His power to restore us to the Father.

The story is not over though.  What does Bartimaeus do next?  Does he go back to the roadside and resume begging? Does he pluck his eyes out or blindfold himself because he missed the blindness. No.  We are told he starts to follow Jesus. Reconciliation through confession is not a call to pick where we left off. No, the conversion of heart is meant to draw us to the love that Christ lives and follow it in our own lives.  In our trip through humility, hope, and faith, we end up pursuing a different path set by the love of Christ.

This innocent enough story of a blind beggar is a call to conversion and reconciliation!  Let us be humble in understanding where we need to be healed.  Let us break the shackles of fear and pride, and place our hope that Jesus does want to heal us and restore us.  I bid you, "Get up, take courage, Jesus is calling you!"  In faith, approach Him in Confession and tell Him "I want to see!"  The great truth is that He wants you to see as well. That is why He gave the Apostles the authority and duty to forgive sins in His name. If we are to pursue Christ and the life Hes ets us to, we must get up from the side of the road and ask for His grace.

Get up!  Take Courage! Jesus is calling you!
Tell Him , "Master, I want to see!" 

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